Playing Resistance

Presentation of a research project as part of the "Jeudis de la Maison Suger", a residents' research seminar.

This session will host Aleksandr Veselov for a presentation on his ongoing research into contemporary Russian video games as spaces of memory, social critique, and reflection on the transformations of political engagement in present-day Russia.

"This project explores how contemporary Russian independent video games reflect changing ideas of public participation, social experience, and individual agency. Since the mid-2010s, small independent games have responded to rapid social and cultural change, often addressing subjects that remain marginal in mainstream cultural production.
The project traces a gradual transformation in the forms of agency these games offer to players. Earlier works often imagined active participation and the possibility of influencing events, while later games increasingly focus on observation, adaptation, survival, and personal choice under difficult circumstances. This shift can be seen in games dealing with public events, collective memory, uncertainty, loss, and everyday life.
By examining these changing forms of agency, the project shows how Russian independent games register broader transformations in social experience while imagining different ways of acting within uncertain environments."

Aleksandr Veselov holds a PhD in Social Philosophy and works at the intersection of memory studies, digital anthropology, and game studies. His research focuses on cultural memory, emotions, and the representation of Soviet and post-Soviet history in video games. He is also the creator of Video Games with History, a media project dedicated to the study of history and cultural memory in video games.